One of the leading theories of social learning today is Wenger's theory of Communities of Practice' (CoP-theory). CoP-theory reiterates basic tenets of social learning theory yet it us set apart from other theories of social learning and education not only by centering on identity-formation but by positing four key dualities as inherent structural…

In this essay Ryan Kemp makes an unlikely case for value stability, arguing that people should almost never aspire to become radically different and that, given this, some people should be reluctant to pursue educational experiences that wildly broaden their life possibilities. His account is developed and structured around two borrowed examples,…

In recent years, there has been a marked shift in concern among some philosophers of education from political transformation to personal transformation. In the past, critics of liberalism, both egalitarian and communitarian, promoted political, social, economic and educational reform--but always subscribed to the freedom of the individual, the…

It has become commonplace within the educational research community to invoke the transformative power of education. The call to adopt a 'transformative' approach to teaching and learning can be heard in fields as different as adult education and school leadership and as estranged as social justice education and educational psychology. While there…

This article aims at expanding transformation theory through the work of the philosopher Richard Rorty. His concept of redescription allows us to distinguish between good learning and transformative learning and to counteract the critique of conceptional looseness. In addition, Rorty's thesis of contingency and his notion of irony are going to be…

This paper compares the educational thought of Paulo Freire and Confucius on what it means to be more fully human. Both Freire and Confucius object to the dehumanisation of human beings through the banking concept of education and other oppressive practices. They argue for the ontological vocation of becoming more fully human through humanisation…

Notions of 'personal and social development' within experiential learning literature remain philosophically underdeveloped, often identified as something like practical wisdom or practical reasoning. Experiential learning practitioners and theorists make frequent claims regarding the 'life-changing' significance for participants; particularly in…

The struggle to become lucid is at the heart of The Myth of Sisyphus. To understand the absurd is to understand that the fit between our conception of the world and the world itself is fraught with uncertainty; lucidity is the elucidation of the absurd. To be lucid is to revolt against the type of certainty that leads to suffering; to revolt…

In this article, I set up a Heideggerian framework of research in order to investigate the phenomenon of "looking at the smartphone screen," focusing especially on "the desire to look," which I see as intricately connected with "the desire to know" and "the desire to be." With a clear phenomenological…

This article seeks to clarify the purpose of high-stakes exam and its relationship with teaching and learning by elucidating the educational thought of the eminent neo-Confucian thinker Zhu Xi. The paper contends that Zhu Xi views standardised testing as an essential means to evaluate the learning outcomes, honour exemplary scholars and select…

In this article, the "Bild" or image of the sculptor used by Plotinus and adapted by his Christian follower Meister Eckhart forms the basis of a reflection on the religious or otherworldly dimension in ethics (as opposed to a reductionist or functionalist conception of ethics with its focus on human happiness in the sense of worldly…

The Yew Chung Education Foundation operates a network of five international schools in China, plus one in California, serving in total around 5500 children. This article investigates the aims and philosophy of a "model" of international education which aims not only to educate children but also to bring about an inner transformation of…

"In a time of unacceptable global injustice, growing inequalities in the distribution of power, accelerating climate change, and unwavering racism and social exclusion, we are today facing the biggest challenges of human history" (European Conference on Intercultural Dialogue in Development Education, 2008: 1). A favourable wind is…

This paper takes a critical look at the applicability of the Jungian view on individuation and imagination. While Jungian ideas can bring something fresh and necessary into educational practice, personal enthusiasm might blind us to a dissonance between educational goals and the therapeutic goal of analytical psychology. The case is made with…

Presented at AERA 2010 as the Social Justice Award Lecture, this article calls attention to the purposes of education in the 21st century and the need for a robust, social justice vision of education. Here, it is argued that education is about the cultivation of a flourishing life and not only the narrow preparation for employment. To realize…